Tornado touches down in Carl Junction
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — A tornado was confirmed north of Joplin near Airport Drive around 1:35 p.m. Thursday, May 2.
Homeowners in the Dogwood Trail Loop area in east Carl Junction are now focusing on the clean up.
The Carl Junction Fire Protection District describes the impact as downed trees, roof damage, and other outlying damage. There are also fences down and damaged vehicles under trees.
The damage path lies just west of the Joplin Regional Airport, but Joplin officials say the path stopped short of affecting the airport and the homes to the north and east.
Gary and Phyllis Ward’s roof, fence, and a play structure in the backyard were all damaged. They say it all happened so quickly.
“I heard banging on the roof and stuff, and then Holy Toledo — What’s this? And everything was done by then. The tornado was gone. The damage was done. Nothing you can do about it but pay for it,” said Ward.
May 2, 2024 Tornado Video Compilation
About a mile from where the tornado touched down, Carl Junction resident’s Bruce and Colleen Smithey said they saw the tornado as it lifted from the ground and then passed directly over their home near Gum Road.
They say the funnel was near the top of the tree line when it reached them. They say what stood out was how quickly it came — and went.
“It was crazy, we were looking through the front window here and my wife said, ‘something’s wrong,’ it got too dark too fast. So, we stepped out here, and all the sudden in just a second the whole top of the tree started spinning and twisting, the whole top, and I knew we were in trouble. It was blowing the hardest I’d ever seen it,” said Bruce Smithey.
Courtesy: Matthew Wilkerson Courtesy: Matthew Wilkerson Courtesy: Kathy Riddle-Lewis Courtesy: Kathy Riddle-Lewis Courtesy: Kathy Riddle-Lewis
The Smithey’s say the strong winds did break off several large tree limbs and knocked down power lines in their neighborhood. Liberty Utilities crews were able to restore power a few hours later.
Unfortunately, Carl Junction is no stranger to tornado damage.
It’s been almost 21 years since the north side of town was hit on May 4, 2003. That tornado claimed two lives, injured 15 others, and destroyed more than 100 homes — damaging 500 others.
Another tornado more recently was on May 22, 2019. That was an EF-3 in the Briarbrook area, damaging more than 330 homes.
